Building neighborhood and local emergency capability: The role of community-based disaster preparedness programs

Communities in California face a classic planning problem: dealing with certain events that will occur at an uncertain time in the future. The problem in this case is natural disasters, and specifically earthquakes. California is considered "earthquake country," with communities in the urban regions of San Francisco and Los Angeles at high risk for damaging earthquakes, some potentially catastrophic.; The recurrence of earthquakes in California has created a new form of disaster preparedness, based on community self-reliance rather than local or state governments as the initial responder. These community-based programs have taken shape in several ways, but the most successful among them integrate earthquake preparedness activities at the neighborhood block level.; This dissertation examines the emergence of community-based disaster preparedness programs in general, creating a typology of community-based programs. It also focuses on one program in particular. With 70% of its neighborhoods participating in its earthquake preparedness program, the City of Albany was chosen for a more thorough examination. Earthquake preparedness activity data from over 700 Albany households were compared to a control city, and the San Francisco Bay Area. In-depth interviews with 54 key informants, or block leaders, in the program provide insight at the block level, and provide a means of organizational comparison among the different blocks.; At the household level, the research shows that neighborhood-based disaster preparedness programs can have a significant positive impact on household earthquake preparedness, indicating higher levels of preparedness activity when compared to a control city without a program, as well as a random sample of the general population in the region. At the neighborhood block level, the program can dramatically alter the interaction that takes place on the block, and transform the quality of life as perceived by the residents. These results are traced to the effectiveness of peer networks and the creation of an accepting environment, a "preparedness community," that makes discussion and action regarding earthquake preparedness a part of the community culture.; The research demonstrates that community-based disaster preparedness programs, if targeted to the neighborhood block level, can be an effective means of increasing the capability of individual and neighborhoods to respond to emergencies. The program further serves as a catalyst for increased interaction and shared activity, and neighborhood residents report that they feel a greater sense of community.